Conveyer port



Nov. 27, 1928.

J. J. MOJONNIER coNvEYER PORT Filed May 17, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet J. J. MOJONNIER Nov. 27, 1928.

Patented Nov.' 27, 192s.

' UNITED sTA JULIUS J'. MOJONNIEB, OF

OAK PARK, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO MOJONNIER BROS. C0.,

A CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS.

CONVEYER FORT.

Application nled May 17, 1926. Serial No. 109,729.

The present invention relates to ports through which conveyer belts are adapted to pass. ln creameries, ice cream factories and' like places where different temperatures and atmospheric conditions are maintained 1n diil'erent rooms or chambers, it is desirable to use conveyers which will carry cans and other receptacles from one compartment into another and to do so with the greatest efciency both in the operation of the conveyer and in maintaining the requisite temperature or other atmospheric differences between the compartments. The principal object lof the present invention is to provide a port of this kind.v ln brief, this object is attained by providing an opening through the wall or partition and placing therein a port structure comprising surrounding walls, a heavy outer insulating door to close the opening when the port is not in use and inner doors which are yieldingly mounted so that they may be pushed open by the articles upon the conveyer as the same pass through the ort. The features of theinventioninclu e not only the port provided with these elements but also specific details covering the mounting of the refrigerator' door, the construction and arrangement of the inner doors, the positioning of the conveyer openings so that the same may run continuously even when the port is not open, and other details of construction.

The various features and advantages of my invention will be more` fully understood upon reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings while the scope of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to said drawings, Fig. 1 is an elevational view illustrating a conveyer port constructed and arranged in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a central vertical section of the lower portion of the same upon a somewhat enlarged scale, the plane of section being indicated by the iine 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an elevational View of a portion of a pair or inner doors, the adjacent portwalls being shown in section, the plane offsec'tion being indicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 1s a plan view of a portion of the top of the heavy insulating door and one of its connecting brackets by which sliding connection is made with a supporting bail or frame, the latter being shown in section taken on a plane indicated by the line 4:-4: of Fig.

1; Fig. 5 is a perspective. view of a member of one of the hinges by which the inner doors are pivotally mounted; Fig. 6- is a perspective view of a portion of one of the inner doors showing the other member of the hinge by which the door is mounted; Fig. 7 is an elevation of the lower portion of the heavy outer door and associated frame of the port, illustrating more particularly the passageways for the conveyer belts, the view being similar to that of Fig. 1 but on a somewhat larger scale; Fig. 8 is a central vertical section through the heavy outer door and the door sill illustrating particularly the insulating packing therebetween, the plane of section being indicated by the line 8--8 ofFig. 7; Fig. 9 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 8 but taken at one of the points where the conveyer passes through the structure, the plane of section being indicated by the line 9 -9 of Fig. 7; Fig. 10 is a detail horizontal section of the outer door and jamb illustrating one of the clips for centering the door, the plane of section being indicated'by the line 10-10 of Fig. 7; Fig. 11 is a horizontal section taken through the port a short distance above its bottom, illustrating particularly how the containers pass through the port when the same is open for service; and Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a conveyer passing from a loading platform or table through a port into a hardening room or like chamber. Throughout these views like characters refer to like parts.

' In said drawings, 20 designates the wall or partition in which the port structure is located. The conveyer which asses through the port P consists, the em odiment illustrated, of two link belts 21 each comprising a plurality of links 22 which are pivoted together and pass along in grooves in the floor 23 of the port from one side of the wall 20 to the other, the return stretches of the belts 21 extending through openings 24 located below the floor 23 of the port. Any number of such belts 21 may be employed. In the present instance I have shown two belts as typical. As clearly illustrated in the diagram of Fig. 12, these belts pass over sheaves 25 and 26 located on opposite sides of the wall or partition 20. In service one set of sheaves will be power driven and the other will run idly. As shown in the diagram of Fig. 12 the containers 27, there shown as milk or ice cream cans, are taken from the loading table or los` platform .28 and placed upon the upper stretch of the conveyer, whlch moves 1n the -l direction indicated by the arrow from the yeo table toward the port P in the Wall 20. In the instance illustrated in the diagram of Fig. 12, the space beyond the port from the table 28 is a room 29, such as the hardening room employed in ice creamfactories for completing the freezing or hardening of semi-frozen ice cream in the containers 27 which pass through the port P into the room 29. The diagram of Fig. 12 is merely illustrative of one use of the port P. Obviously, the same may be used in various connectionsand under very different circumstances, and in different installations than that depicted in this figure.

The port P is tubular having besides the bottom 23, a top 30 and sides 31, 32. All

' these walls of the port may be constructed of the same or diferent materials, and any desired and suitable material may be employed. In the present instance they are made of wood. The bottom wall or floor 23 of the port extends out through the opening in the wall 20 a short distance and is there provided with a sill 33 for the outer insulating door 34. The frame at the outer end of the port includes the lintel 35 and the jambs 36, 37. These are also preferably composed of wood and are fitted against the adjacent surface of the wall 20. When the door 34 is closed it fits snugly against the` frame members 35, 36, 37 and the sill 33.

The door 34 may be constructed in different ways but is preferably built up of wood so as to provide a hollow interior which is filled with ground cork or other suitable insulating material 38. The door 34 is mounted so as to be raised from and lowered into closing position. For this purpose a bail 39 extending above the lintel 35 is provided. This bail preferably consists of a piece of strap iron which has an upper horizontal portion 40 and two depending portions 41. The latter ex'- tend down to the sill 33 and are secured throughout the lower half of their length to the outer edges of the jambs l36 and 37, ordinary wood screws 42 preferably being used for this purpose. The upper half of the bail 39 is for the most part free from the wall 20 and other parts of the structure. The horizontal portion 40 of the bail 39 might, however, if desired, be additionally secured to the Wall 2() by brackets 43, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The upper portions of the members 41 of the bail serve as guides for the engaging members 44 attached to the upper side of the door 34. The latter may be secured to the door 34 in any suitable way and preferably wood screws 45 are used for this purpose. The brackets 44 extend rearward from lthe door 34 and laterally where they terminate in lugs 46 which engage the opposite edges of the bail members 41. With this construction it will be seen that the door 34 may be raised manually from its closed position to a position above the port opening, as illustrated in Fig. 12. When in this position an eye 47 on the top of the door 34 passes through a corresponding opening 48 in the horizontal portion 40 of the bail 39 and may be held in open position by a pin 4 8 which may be.

ypassed'through the eye 47 above the portion 40 of the bail. v)When it is desired to close the door 34 then it is only necessary to raise the same slightly so as to be able to Withdraw the pin 48 from the eye 47; then the door ma be allowed to come to closing position, pre ably being manually restrained to prevent too rapid a drop. When the door 34 has come to closing position then it is preferably forced tightly against the jambs 36, 37 lintel 35 and sill 33 by the fasteners 49 and 50 located upon the door near its bottom and upon the sill 33. These fasteners are of the usual refrigerator door type and by cam engagement force the door tightly against its frame by the application of ordinary manual pressure. Since the door 34 is more or less pivotally supported by engagement of the brackets 44 with the bail members 41, the loweruend of the door is free to swing in and out to some extent. In order to center the door` over the opening, I provide the same with clips 51, one of which is illustrated mor-e particularly in Figs. 4 and 10. The inner ends of these clips are laterally yielding and are spread so as to readily engage the bail members 41 as the door 34 is moved tightly against its frame. The clips 51 thus constitute means'for centering the door upon its frame.

It has been pointed out hertofore that the conveyer link belts 21 pass along through grooves in the iioor 23 of the port structure. In the embodiment illustrated, channel irons 52 are positioned in the grooves in the floor 23 with their flanges up-turned, and thus guide-ways are provided for the links of the conveying belts. As shown Aat 53, the lower edge of the door 34 is cut away a small amount so as to provide `for the passage of the two conveyer belts illustrated. The portion so cut away may be made to conform very closely to the curved upper surface of the links of the conveyer belts. At other points than those where the conveyer belts pass through, a compact joint is provided by employing packing strips 54 of rubber or other suitable substance.` In this way, when the door 34 is closed, the only possible air leakage through the door will be that around the conveyer. links and as stated this. is very slight. Ordinarily the distance between the top of the links of the belts and the under edge of the cut away portions 53 4of the door 34 is not more than one eighth of an inc Obviously packing might also be employed between the door 34 and the jambs 36, 37 and lintels 35 if desired, although I have not considered it necessary to illustrate the same, In pracwill readily pass Yce them for conveying packages on either side ot the wall 20 without passing them through,

the port.

When the door 34 is elevated into open p0- stion and the conveyer .belts 21 are being operated. then articles placed upon the belt through the port from one side ot the wall 20 to the other. This will be true notwithstanding they presence of the inner doors 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60. These doors are arranged in pairs, doors `and 56 cooperating to close the port at one point, doors 57 and 58 to close it at a second point, and doors 59 and 60 to close it at a third point. The-se pairs of doors are hinged at their outer edges and yieldingly held in closed position. The mountings for each pair of doors are alike, and it will therefore suiice to consider the mountings of the third pair, namely, doors 59 and 60, illustrated more particularly in Figs. 3, 5 and 6. As shown in these gures, the doors are held normally closed by a coiled tension spring 61 which has its ends passed through openings 61 in the doors 59 and 60 near their upper hinges. Each door is provided with a hinge at its top and a hinge at its bottom. Each hinge includes a tubular socket member 62 and a pin member 63. The former includes a tube which extends upward above the top of the door in the case of an upper hinge, and downward below the bottom of the door in the case of a lower hinge, .and is secured thereto in any suitable way, as by screws 64. The hinge member 63 comprises a base 65 which is adapted to be secured to the upper wall 30, or the floor 23, of the port structure by a suitable means, as screws 66 passing through openings 67. The base 65 is provided with a pivot pin 68 which passes into the open end of the tubular member 62. From this description it will be seen that the tension spring 61 being secured to the doors 59 and 66 at points outward from the axes of rotation of the doors will cause the latter to remain shut when under the sole influence of the spring 6l. However, when receptacles, such as the cans 27, are carried through the rt by the conveyer belts 2l the spring controlled doors will yield and allow the container. or other package, to pass through the port and as soon as the same has cleared itself of each pair of doors the latter will automatically return to their closed position. By having a plurality of the spring controlled d'oors within the port, it is impossible for a stream or current of air to pass through the port. rThe only air that will pass through will be that which is locked through as the doors are opened and closed in succession. It is obvious that any number of pairs of spring controlled doors, like the doors 59, 60, might be employed. The number to be employed and their spacing within the port passage is to a large extent a matter of judgement to be exerclsed when putting the invention into-practice. The hin ed edges of the inner doors are reinforced y strips 70 for strength. Of course the conveyer will have guides for the containers to kee them in place on the chains I and the lat-ter wi l have a suitable supporting frame. For these details reference should be had to my copending application Serial No. 109,7 28, tiled May 17, 1926 (executed and filed on the `same dates, respectively, as this application). The openings 24 below the port preterably vhave an escutcheon plate 71. The port walls 23, 30, 31, 32 preferably extend a considerable distance beyond the wall 2O on the side away from the door 34. This distance may be varied depending on the conditions encountered and the number of inner doors considered necessary. The greater the difference in atmospheric conditions to be maintained the greater the number of inner doors desirable and consequentl the longer the port. vThese are all matters o engineering design. If desired the locking pin 48 by which the door 34 is held suspended may be secured to the bail 39 by a chain 72 or other flexible connection so as to be always available for service.

It is apparent that in carrying out my invention certain changes and modifications mayHbe made in the particular construction herein disclosed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. lt will also be apparent that the port may be used in association with conveyers of different types and for the handling of a great variety of commodities. I thereto-re do not wish to be limited to the exact disclosure or to the particular uses herein particularly mentioned, but intend' to cover by the terms of the appended claims all such alterations and modifications and uses of the invention as rightly come within its spirit and scope.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by a patent of the United States is:

l. Avstructure of the class described comprising a wall, a tubular port structure extending through. said wall and terminating at one end adjacent to one ace of said wall, a frame about said port at said end, a metal bail extending along the sides of said frame at its lower ends and well above said frame at its top, an insulating door slidably mounted on said bail. and movable above said frame to open said ort and down to a position against said rame to close said port, and means for securing the upper part of said bail to said wall.

2. In a structure of the class described, a port, a pair of doors. for closing said port, said doors being hinged near their outer edges and free `at their inner edges, and a tensionv member secured at its ends to said doors, re-

yil() s spectively, inward of their hinged points,

whereby said doors are yieldingly held closed and are readily opened under pressure.

3. In a structure of the class described, a port, a frame about said port, a metal bail extending along the sides of said frame at its lower ends and at its top well above said frame, an insulating door slidably mounted on said bail and movable above said frame to open said port and down to a position against said frame to close said port.

4. In a structure of the class described, a port, a pair of doors for closing said port, said doors being hinged near their outer edges and free at their inner edges and also being shaped and positioned so as to provide, when closed, a space between their tops and the adjacent portion of said port, and a coiled tension spring occupying said space when said doors are closed, said spring being stretched between connection points on said doors near to but inward from their hinge axes respectively, whereby said doors are yieldingly held closed and are readily opened under pressure.

5. A structure of the class described comprising a wall; a tubular port structure eX- tending through said wall with its end substantially Hush with the outer face of the wall, said structure being rectangular in cross section and comprising a top and floor extending substantially horizontally and opposed vertical sides connecting said top andJ floor; a door frame at the flush end of said tubular structure, said frame including a lintel and jambs secured to said port top and sides respectively and bearing against the face of said wall and a sill at one end of the floor of said port structure; a heavy insulating door pivotally mounted at'its top and movable into close insulating engagement with the outer faces of said )ambs and lintel and the top face of said sill; and a conveyer belt extending through an opening at the meeting edge of said door and sill and along the bottom of said port floor.

6. A structure of the class described comprising a wall; a tubular port structure eX- tending through said wallwith its end substantiall Hush with the outer face of the wall, sai structure being rectangular in cross section and comprising a top and floor eX- tending substantially horizontally and opposed vertical sides connecting said top and floor; va door frame at the flush end of said tubular structure, said frame including a lintel and jambs secured lto said port top and sides respectively and bearing against the face of said wall and a sill at onel end of the floor of said port structure; a heavy insulating door pivotally mounted at its top and movable into close insulating engagement with the outer faces of said jambs and lintel and the top face of said sill; a conveyer belt extending through an opening at the meeting edge of said door and sill and along the bottom of said port floor; and sets of yielding doors within said tubular port structure dividing the interior of the same into a plurality of insulating compartments, said doors being opened by the pressure thereagainst of articles carried through the port by said conveyer belt while said heavy insulating door is open and the conveyer working.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 30 day of April, A. D.

' J ULIUS MOJONNIER. 

